title: Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and habituation to seasickness.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Seasickness may impose severe limitations on the performance of ships' crew. Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMP) assess the function of the saccule, the organ responsible for monitoring vertical linear acceleration, which has been found to be the most provocative motion stimulus in the evolution of motion sickness. We used the cVEMP test in a prospective evaluation of susceptibility and habituation to seasickness.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-six naval recruits underwent the cVEMP test before exposure to sea conditions. After 6 months' sailing experience, participants completed a questionnaire evaluating their initial and current seasickness severity. Based on their most recent experience, subjects were divided into three groups: non-vomiting non-habituating (NV-NH), vomiting (V), and non-vomiting habituating (NV-H).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Statistically significant lower thresholds for cVEMP were found in subjects who habituated to sea conditions (NV-H), compared with those remaining severely susceptible (V) (77.0 dB HL vs. 84.9 dB HL; p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ability to produce the cVEMP at lower thresholds represents a broader dynamic range, in which the reflex can respond to a wider array of stimuli amplitudes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study demonstrates the potential of the cVEMP test for predicting future habituation to seasickness.
authors.affiliation: Motion Sickness and Human Performance Laboratory, Israel Naval Medical Institute, IDF Medical Corps, Haifa, Israel. Electronic address: tldror1@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dror
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tal
authors.forename: Dov
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hershkovitz
authors.forename: Gil
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kaminski-Graif
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wiener
authors.forename: Orit
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Samuel
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shupak
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004056:Differential Threshold; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000503:physiopathology; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008889:Military Personnel; D009041:Motion Sickness / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012444:Saccule and Utricle / Q000503:physiopathology; D058585:Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Motion sickness; Seasickness; Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials; Vestibular function tests